Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Romans 16:22
I Tertius, who wrote [this] epistle, salute you in the Lord.
22. I Tertius, &c.] This ver. may be read, I Tertius greet you, who wrote the Epistle in the Lord; i.e., who wrote it, (as the Apostle’s amanuensis,) in the spirit of a Christian, as a work of holy privilege and love. But the E. V. is also justified by the Greek, and is the more probable on the whole.
Tertius had a Latin name, and was perhaps a Roman, personally known to the Church at Rome. There is something strangely real and life-like in this sudden interposition of the amanuensis, with his own personal greeting.
who wrote this epistle ] Letter-writing by amanuensis was very common in the days of St Paul; and if St Paul suffered in his eyes, as is not unlikely [49] , he would be doubly sure to use such help. It was his custom (in his earliest Epistles, at least,) to write a few words at the close with his own hand. See 2Th 3:17. Cp. Gal 6:11; where render, “ See in what large letters I write to you, with my own hand.”
[49] See Introduction, i. 32.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I Tertius – Of Tertius nothing more is known than is mentioned here.
Who wrote this – It is evident that Paul employed an amanuensis to write this Epistle, and perhaps he commonly did it. Tertius, who thus wrote it, joins with the apostle in affectionate salutations to the brethren at Rome. To the Epistle, Paul signed his own name, and added a salutation in his own hand-writing. Col 4:18, The salutation by the hand of me Paul; and in 2Th 3:17, he says that this was done in every epistle, 1Co 16:21.
In the Lord – As Christian brethren.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 22. I Tertius, who wrote this epistle] Some eminent commentators suppose Tertius to be the same with Silas-the companion of St. Paul. If this were so, it is strange that the name which is generally given him elsewhere in Scripture should not be used in this place. I have already noticed (Preface, page v.) that some learned men have supposed that St. Paul wrote this epistle in Syriac, and that Tertius translated it into Greek; but this can never agree with the declaration here: I Tertius, who wrote, , this epistle; not translated or interpreted it. It appears that St. Paul dictated it to him, and he wrote it down from the apostle’s mouth; and here introduces himself as joining with St. Paul in affectionate wishes for their welfare.
Salute you in the Lord.] I wish you well in the name of the Lord: or, I feel for you that affectionate respect which the grace of the Lord Jesus inspires. It is not clear whether the two following verses be the words of Tertius or St. Paul.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Tertius; this was the apostles scribe or amanuensis,
who wrote this Epistle, either from his mouth, or from his papers: he put in this salutation by the apostles licence.
Salute you in the Lord; i.e. I wish you safety from the Lord.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. I, Tertius, who wrote this“the”
epistleas theapostle’s amanuensis, or penman.
salute you in the LordSousually did the apostle dictate his epistles, that he calls theattention of the Galatians to the fact that to them he wrote with hisown hand (Ga 6:11). But thisTertius would have the Romans to know that, far from being a merescribe, his heart went out to them in Christian affection; and theapostle, by giving his salutation a place here, would show what sortof assistants he employed.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I Tertius, who wrote this epistle,…. This name is a Latin one, and perhaps the person might be a Roman, for the names Secundus, Tertius, Quartus, Quintus, c. were common with the Romans unless it may be thought, as it is by some, that this man was the same with Silas, who was a constant companion of the apostle; and the Hebrew word is the same as Tertius; he also is numbered among the seventy disciples, and said to be bishop of Iconium; [See comments on Lu 10:1]. Whosoever he was, it is certain he was an amanuensis of the apostle, who wrote this letter, either from the apostle’s notes, or from his mouth.
Salute you in the Lord. Some connect this phrase, “in the Lord”, with the other, “wrote this epistle”, and make the sense to be that he wrote this epistle for the Lord’s sake, for his honour and glory; which he might do, though he wrote it not by inspiration, being only scribe to the apostle; but it is better connected with the word “salute”, and the sense is, that his salutation was not a mere form, nor only concerned their temporal good, but their spiritual welfare; that he wished them well in the Lord, that they might have much communion with him, and larger measures of grace from him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
I Tertius ( ). The amanuensis to whom Paul dictated the letter. See 2Thess 3:17; 1Cor 16:21; Col 4:18.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
I Tertius. Paul ‘s amanuensis. See on Gal 6:11.
Wrote [] . Better Rev., write. The epistolary aorist. See on 1Jo 2:13. Godet remarks upon Paul ‘s exquisite courtesy in leaving Tertius to salute in his own name. To dictate to him his own salutation would be to treat him as a machine.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1 ) “I Tertius who wrote this epistle,” (ego teritos ho graphas ten epistolen) “I Tertius, the one writing the (this letter),” or epistle, the penman for Paul in preparing the epistle sent to the Roman brethren, from Paul in Corinth; The name Teritus means “third”; nothing is known of him beyond that he penned this letter for Paul.
2) “Salute you in the Lord,” (aspazomai humas en kurio) “Greet all of you in the Lord,” who are in the Lord, on a common Christian experience ground with you all.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(22) Tertius.The Apostles amanuensis. It was the custom of St. Paul to add a few words of parting benedictory encouragement or admonition in his own handwriting, partly as a mark of his own personal interest in his readers, and partly as a precaution against forgery. (See especially Gal. 6:11, and 2Th. 3:17.) We have observed in the course of this Commentary how frequently the involved and broken style is to be accounted for by this habit of dictation, and, as it would seem, not very punctilious revision. We have the thoughts and words of the Apostle as they came warm from his own mind.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. Tertius A Roman name signifying third, as Quartus below signifies fourth.
Wrote As amanuensis to Paul.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘I Tertius, who write the letter, salute you in the Lord.’
Tertius was here seen as acting as Paul’s amanuensis, and adds his own greeting to the letter. It is probable, in view of the Pauline style of the letter, that in this case his duties were restricted to writing word by word in accord with Paul’s dictation, although often an amanuensis could have a much greater impact on the style of a letter.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rom 16:22. I Tertius, who wrote this Epistle, &c. It was the general custom of those times to dictate to an amanuensis;especially with men of learningand business. An anonymous critic would read this verse, I Tertius, who wrote this Epistle, for the glory of the Lord, salute you. It seems that Tertius, who was St. Paul’s secretary or amanuensis, was well known to the Roman brethren. From his name he may be supposed to have been a Roman. Others think that this is Silas, because his name is of the same signification with Tertius.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rom 16:22 . Tertius , probably an Italian with whom the readers were acquainted, was at that time with Paul in Corinth, and wrote the letter, which the apostle dictated to him. The view that he made a fair copy of the apostolic draught (Beza, Grotius) is the more groundless, since Paul was wont to dictate his epistles (1Co 16:21 ; Gal 6:11 ; Col 4:16 ; 2Th 3:17 ). In his own name Tertius writes his greeting; for it was very natural that, when he called the apostle’s attention to his personal wish to send a greeting, his own greeting (which Grotius and Laurent, without sufficient ground, relegate to the margin ) would not be dictated by the apostle, but left to himself to express. In Rom 16:23 , Paul again proceeds with his dictation. Quite groundlessly, Olshausen (following Eichhorn) thinks that Paul wrote the doxology immediately after Rom 16:20 , and did so on a small separate piece of parchment, the other blank side of which the scribe Tertius used, in order to write on it in his own name Rom 16:21-24 . But how incontestably , Rom 16:21 , points to Paul himself!
] To be referred to .; the Christian salutation, offered in the consciousness of living fellowship with Christ. Comp. 1Co 16:19 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.
Ver. 22. I Tertius who wrote, &c. ] Either from the apostle’s mouth, or rather out of his foul papers.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
22. ] There is nothing strange (as Olsh. supposes) in this salutation being inserted in the first person. It would be natural enough that Tertius the amanuensis, inserting . . . . . ., should change the form into the first person, and afterwards proceed from the dictation of the Apostle as before. Beza and Grot. suppose him to have done this on transcribing the Epistle. Thol. notices this irregularity as a corroboration of the genuineness of the chapter. On the supposed identity of Tertius with Silas see note on Act 15:22 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rom 16:22 . : the use of the first person is a striking indication of Paul’s courtesy. To have sent the greeting of his amanuensis in the third person would have been to treat him as a mere machine (Godet). goes with : it is as a Christian, not in virtue of any other relation he has to the Romans, that Tertius salutes them.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Romans
TERTIUS
Rom 16:22
One sometimes sees in old religious pictures, in some obscure corner, a tiny kneeling figure, the portrait of the artist. So Tertius here gets leave to hold the pen for a moment on his own account, and from Corinth sends his greeting to his unknown brethren in Rome. Apparently he was a stranger to them, and needed to introduce himself. He is never heard of before or since. For one brief moment he is visible, like a star of a low magnitude, shining out for a moment between two banks of darkness and then swallowed up. Judging by his name, he was probably a Roman, and possibly had some connection with Italy, but clearly was a stranger to the Church in Rome. We do not know whether he was a resident in Corinth, where he wrote this epistle, or one of Paul’s travelling companions. Probably he was the former, as his name never recurs in any of Paul’s letters. One can understand the impulse which led him for one moment to come out of obscurity and to take up personal relations with those who had so long enjoyed his pen. He would fain float across the deep gulf of alienation a thread of love which looked like gossamer, but has proved to be stronger than centuries and revolutions.
This humble and modest greeting is an expression of a sentiment which the world may smile at, but which, being ‘in the Lord,’ partakes of immortality. No doubt the world’s hate drove more closely together all the disciples in primitive times; but the yearning of Tertius for some little corner in the love of his Roman brethren might well influence us to-day. There ought to be an effort of imagination going out towards unknown brethren. Christian love is not meant to be kept within the limits of sight and personal knowledge; it should overleap the narrow bounds of the communities to which we belong, and expatiate over the whole wide field. The great Shepherd has prescribed for us the limits to the very edge of which our Christian love should consciously go forth, and has rebuked the narrowness to which we are prone, when He has said, ‘Other sheep I have which are not of this fold.’ We are all too prone to let identities of opinion and of polity, or even the accident of locality, set bounds to our consciousness of brotherhood; and the example of this little gush of affection, that reaches out a hand across the ocean and grasps the hands of unknown partakers in the common life of the one Lord, may well shame us out of our narrowness, and quicken us into a wide perception and deepened feeling towards all who in every place call up Jesus Christ as their Lord-’both their Lord and ours.’
Another lesson which we may learn from Tertius’ characterisation of himself is the dignity of subordinate work towards a great end. His office as amanuensis was very humble, but it was quite as necessary as Paul’s inspired fervour. It is to him that we owe our possession of the Epistle; it is to him that Paul owed it that he was able to record in imperishable words the thoughts that welled up in his mind, and would have been lost if Tertius had not been at his side. The power generated in the boilers does its work through machines of which each little cog-wheel is as indispensable as the great shafts. Members of the body which seem to be ‘more feeble, are necessary.’ Every note in a great concerted piece of music, and every instrument, down to the triangle and the little drum in the great orchestra, is necessary. This lesson of the dignity of subordinate work needs to be laid to heart both by those who think themselves to be capable of more important service, and by those who have to recognise that the less honourable tasks are all for which they are fit. To the former it may preach humility, the latter it may encourage. We are all very ignorant of what is great and what is small in the matter of our Christian service, and we have sometimes to look very closely and to clear away a great many vulgar misconceptions before we can clearly discriminate between mites and talents. ‘We know not which may prosper, whether this or that’; and in our ignorance of what it may please God to bring out of any service faithfully rendered to Him, we had better not be too sure that true service is ever small, or that the work that attracts attention and is christened by men ‘great’ is really so in His eyes. It is well to have the noble ambition to ‘desire earnestly the greater gifts,’ but it is better to ‘follow the more excellent way,’ and to seek after the love which knows nothing of great or small, and without which prophecy and the knowledge of all mysteries, and all conspicuous and all the shining qualities profit nothing.
We can discern in Tertius’ words a little touch of what we may call pride in his work. No doubt he knew it to be subordinate, but he also knew it to be needful; and no doubt he had put all his strength into doing it well. No man will put his best into any task which he does not undertake in such a spirit. It is a very plain piece of homely wisdom that ‘what is worth doing at all is worth doing well.’ Without a lavish expenditure of the utmost care and effort, our work will tend to be slovenly and unpleasing to God, and man, and to ourselves. We may be sure there were no blots and bits of careless writing in Tertius’ manuscript, and that he would not have claimed the friendly feelings of his Roman brethren, if he had not felt that he had put his best into the writing of this epistle. The great word of King David has a very wide application. ‘I will not take that which is thine for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings without cost.’
Tertius’ salutation may suggest to us the best thing by which to be remembered. All his life before and after the hours spent at Paul’s side has sunk in oblivion. He wished to be known only as having written the Epistle. Christian souls ought to desire to live chiefly in the remembrance of those to whom they have been known as having done some little bit of work for Jesus Christ. We may well ask ourselves whether there is anything in our lives by which we should thus wish to be remembered. All our many activities will sink into silence; but if the stream of our life, which has borne along down its course so much mud and sand, has brought some grains of gold in the form of faithful and loving service to Christ and men-these will not be lost in the ocean, but treasured by Him. What we do for Jesus and to spread the knowledge of His name is the immortal part of our mortal lives, and abides in His memory and in blessed results in our own characters, when all the rest that made our busy and often stormy days has passed into oblivion. All that we know of Tertius who wrote this Epistle is that he wrote it. Well will it be for us if the summary of our lives be something like that of his!
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rom 16:22
22I, Tertius, who write this letter, greet you in the Lord.
Rom 16:22 “I, Tertius, who write this letter” Paul used a scribe (amanuensis) to write his letters (cf. 1Co 16:21; Gal 6:11; Col 4:18; 2Th 3:17). I think Paul had poor eye sight and could not write the small, tight script needed to preserve space on a sheet of papyrus or leather scroll (cf. Gal 6:18)!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Tertius. Probably a Roman, writing to Romans.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
22.] There is nothing strange (as Olsh. supposes) in this salutation being inserted in the first person. It would be natural enough that Tertius the amanuensis, inserting . . . . . ., should change the form into the first person, and afterwards proceed from the dictation of the Apostle as before. Beza and Grot. suppose him to have done this on transcribing the Epistle. Thol. notices this irregularity as a corroboration of the genuineness of the chapter. On the supposed identity of Tertius with Silas see note on Act 15:22.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rom 16:22. , I salute) Tertius either by the advice or good-natured permission of Paul put in this salutation. Paul dictated, from which it is evident, how ready the apostles were in producing their books, without the trouble of premeditation.-, Tertius) a Roman name. An amanuensis no doubt well known to the Romans.-, in) construed with I who wrote; an implied confession of faith.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rom 16:22
Rom 16:22
I Tertius, who write the epistle, salute you in the Lord.-Tertius seems to have been Pauls amanuensis. He seldom wrote his epistles with his own hand. He refers to his having written the letter to the Galatians as something unusual: See with how large letters I write unto you with mine own hand. (Gal 6:11). At the close of his letters, in order to authenticate them, he usually wrote with his own hand the salutation: The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand (1Co 16:21); The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write (2Th 3:17).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
who: Gal 6:11
salute: Rom 16:8, Col 3:17
Reciprocal: Jer 36:4 – wrote Jer 36:32 – who Phi 4:21 – The
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
:22
Rom 16:22. The Funk and Wagnalls New Standard Bible Dictionary says the following of Tertius: “The aman-nuensis [secretary] who penned Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and who sent his salutation, along with others’ to the church at Rome.” Paul usually had someone else to do the writing of the epistles as he dictated them, then he signed them which made them his epistles officially.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rom 16:22. I Tertius. Otherwise unknown; probably an Italian, though some have sought to identify him with Silas, because the Hebrew word answering to Tertius sounds like Silas.
Who write the epistle. Wrote is more literal, but write gives the sense of this epistolary aorist. Paul seems to have dictated most of his letters. Comp. Galatians, chap. 6. It was natural that the amanuensis, as a Christian brother, would send his salutation in the first person. In Rom 16:23 the dictation is resumed.
In the Lord. It is more natural to connect this with salute though the Greek order permits it to be joined with write.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Rom 16:22-24. I Tertius, who wrote this epistle While the apostle dictated it to me; or he might mean that he transcribed it from the apostles autograph: salute you in the Lord The Lord Christ, our common Master. This sentence Tertius inserted by the apostles advice, or at least, permission. Gaius, mine host, by whom I am entertained here at Corinth; see 1Co 1:14 : and of the whole church To all the members of which he shows great hospitality. Or the meaning may be, that the members of the church at Corinth met for some time in his house. Erastus the chamberlain of the city Namely, of Corinth, saluteth you The original expression, , is, literally, the steward of the city; but in the Vulgate version it is translated, arcarius civitatis, treasurer of the city. And Quartus a brother That is, a Christian brother; or, as some think the expression implies, a Christian minister: doubtless he was a person of some note among the first Christians, otherwise his name would not have been inserted here. The grace of our Lord, &c., be with you all This apostolical benediction, (which the apostle here repeats to testify still further his great affection for them, and his earnest desire of their welfare,) he always wrote with his own hand, to distinguish his genuine epistles from those that were forged in his name, 2Th 3:17; and he commonly ended his letters with it. But on this occasion he added also, (it seems in his own hand-writing,) that grand doxology contained in the three following verses; in which he offers a solemn thanksgiving to God for the calling of the Gentiles by the apostles preaching Christ to them, according to the revelation of that mystery made to him, and according to Gods express commandment in the prophetic writings of the Jews. And as he had explained these subjects in the foregoing epistle, this doxology was placed at the conclusion of it with great propriety, and could not but be very acceptable to all the Gentiles.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vv. 22. But Paul had beside him at this very time a fellow-laborer of a different kind, to whom he must also give a place. This was the friend who had lent him the help of his pen in his long work, the Tertius of this verse. Only, could he dictate to him his own salutation as he had dictated the preceding? No, that would have been to treat him as a simple machine. The apostle had too exquisite a sense of propriety to follow such a course. He ceases to dictate, and leaves Tertius himself to salute in his own name: I Tertius. This detail, insignificant in appearance, is not without its value. It lets us see what St. Paul was better than many graver actions. Here we have what may be called the politeness of the heart. Would a forger have thought of this?
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
I Tertius, who write the epistle, salute you in the Lord. [Paul habitually used amanuenses (Gal 6:11; Col 4:18; 2Th 3:7). Tertius, the penman of this Epistle, and known to us only here, shows to us by his salutation that he was no mere hireling in this service.]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
22. I Tertius, the one having written the epistle in the Lord, salute you. This short verse is not the dictation of Paul, but of Tertius, his amanuensis, on his own responsibility. Gaius my host, and that of the whole church, saluteth you. Paul enjoyed the kind hospitality of Gaius while he dictated this letter to Tertius. Erastus, the chamberlain of the city, and brother Quartus salute you. While the Corinthian church was the largest in all the vast Pauline diocese, the members were nearly all poor in temporal circumstances, with a few exceptions of Gaius, here mentioned as the host of Paul and the whole church, Erastus, the chamberlain of the city, and Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 22
Who wrote this epistle; at Paul’s dictation. The forms of the letters, and the nature of the writing materials, employed in ancient times, made writing much more laborious then, than it is now. Paul seems generally to have employed an amanuensis.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
16:22 I Tertius, who {k} wrote [this] epistle, salute you in the Lord.
(k) Wrote it as Paul uttered it.